Haunted by the Past
by Sokizami
Summary: AU: Lucy tries to move on by forgetting her ex-boyfriend who tends to invade her mind and heart without her permission. She meets a classmate who grants her a possibility of falling in love again. Which is something Hibiki highly loathes, and he would do anything to get Lucy back.
1. Prologue

This is a story I recently started writing, a few weeks ago.

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail and its characters.**

* * *

 _Prologue_

* * *

 **Lucy Heartfilia**

Ignoring someone you truly loved was not always an easy thing to do, but sometimes you had to just to avoid complicated consequences.

But the real issue bigger than this for Lucy was that she was stubbornly in denial. She refused to believe, and admit to herself that she was still in love with her first and now ex-boyfriend.

Because it'd be too ridiculous to be clingy with someone who didn't even share mutual feelings anymore, and Lucy must realize that it was time for her to move on. And find a new and better boyfriend.

Which she believed wasn't bound to be possible, ever.

Despite his reputation as a playboy – or a womanizer for a better word – among the other members in the famous group Trimens, Hibiki had been the best and most considerate guy she'd met during her years of high school. Lucy had been in love many times, but never had she fallen for someone as hard as she did for Hibiki.

It didn't take too long for her to eventually come to realize, to come to terms with her continuously growing feelings for him. Her best friend tried to point out that she should set everything on winning him back, because it was somewhat obvious that she and Hibiki were meant for each other. But Lucy had already decided long ago, even before she accepted her own feelings, no matter what she'd never try to win him back.

She'd be a real shit if she'd done that, because roughly a month after their breakup Hibiki found a new girlfriend.

Ever since then, they were still together. And being the caring person that she was, Lucy didn't have the heart to break them up even if seeing them together hurt her, and her heart leading to cause it to shatter in minor pieces.

As long she put all her efforts into putting her feelings aside, simply keeping them a secret, everything would be fine, right?

{}

To say Lucy had a load of mixed feelings would be an understatement, in fact it was pretty normal for everyone who was at the long awaited graduation of high school. The weight had finally lifted off her shoulders, and it felt like she could somewhat breathe normally for the first time in a long while, probably because she was free now. She could get away from all those overly strict teachers with a high pile of homework assignments up their sleeves.

She could now get away and avoid coming up with an "excuse" to see Hibiki everywhere.

It'd been very tiring to keep being forced to watch him together with his new girlfriend, because no matter how hard Lucy tried to ignore their romantic interactions like cuddling and kissing so openly at the cafeteria, the memories of herself and Hibiki kept flashing in her mind.

She hated to admit it, but she still loved Hibiki and would do anything to get him back. But she wouldn't do anything at all, as she did not want to break him and his girlfriend up – they were admittedly cute together, and they were one of the school's "favorite couples".

But after the graduation coming to an official end, there would be no reason, or excuse for her to keep accidentally bumping into Hibiki. Now she should be able to move on for real.

{}

Her brain must be playing tricks on her.

Lucy had been so sure that she would never meet Hibiki again after the graduation but oh boy, was she so mistaken. On her first day of college, the very first person she accidentally bumped into at the entrance was none else than Hibiki.

Not having expected to meet him again all of a sudden – her heart was screaming fate, which her brain immediately turned down with a strict denial and dismissal – Lucy was too surprised to choke out a proper greeting, just to be polite. But all she managed to choke out was;

"What do you want?"

She'd never meant to be rude, and she was about to correct herself by apologizing for her rudeness, and then greeting him properly. But Hibiki already beat her into it by shaking his head, his dark eyes were filled with sadness, to which Lucy felt like she just got a hard punch to her stomach.

Lucy tried to apologize again, but got cut off by a pair of arms wrapped around her body, pulled into a rather crushing embrace.

She yelped in surprise when realizing it was Hibiki who hugged her all of a sudden, and she could feel the rate of her heartbeats increase greatly that it caused her blood to rush up to her cheeks. It was suddenly dizzily.

She couldn't deny that she'd missed being tucked into Hibiki's strong arms, as it always made her feel safe, even now too. But she gave it all to fight her overwhelming urge to return the hug, because she wasn't going to let herself be consumed by her traitorous feelings.

"I miss you," Hibiki finally said something, and his revelation surprised Lucy. "I really do. Please Lucy, let's start over."

Lucy released a shaky breath that she didn't realize she'd been holding in, soon pulling herself away from the one-sided hug. Wrapping her arms around herself in a protective way, Lucy looked away while nibbling at her lower lip nervously as the memories of their breakup intruded her mind.

The reason they broke up was Hibiki being a two-timer, and Hibiki tried to convince her that it happened by accident. Maybe it was true, but Lucy still couldn't and wouldn't ever bring herself to forgive him. Even if she loved him too much to want him back.

"No," Lucy shook her head to try to keep her tears at bay, as Hibiki did not deserve her tears. "I don't want to start over, I want to move on with my life… Besides, you have Jenny."

The disappointment and rejection flashed in Hibiki's eyes, and Lucy really wanted to take her words back – because she really did love him. But she knew she had to stand for her words, even if she might regret her decision later.

Wiping a single tear off her cheek, Lucy managed to smile at Hibiki before turning away to leave. "I'm sorry, Lates."

Maybe they really were meant for each other, but maybe not in this lifetime.

 **Hibiki Lates**

If there was something supernatural or abnormal being that could grant you the power to do anything in your favor, Hibiki would undoubtedly accept it to be able to turn back the time. Or at least travel back to the past, because he wanted to correct his mistakes, to fix them.

He'd foolishly made a stupid mistake back then, and he had stupidly put his blame on the alcohol that'd caused him to get into another woman's pants – when he had in fact already a girlfriend, whom he loved from the bottom of his heart. No matter hard he tried to make his girlfriend forgive him and give him a second chance, there was no way to circumvent the fact that it was his own fault so he probably deserved to get dumped.

He made another stupid mistake when nonchalantly deciding to make that very same woman he was unfaithful with, his new girlfriend.

It would definitely be an understatement if Lucy's trust in him went completely lost because of that decision. Hibiki had often found himself wanting to beat himself into a pulp, if that was possible. Because it was the first time he loved someone too much that it actually hurt, and that was Lucy.

And he screwed up everything.

Hibiki was never the one to give up so easily, he would normally give his all to get whoever's attention. But after getting dumped, his self-confidence sank greatly so that he couldn't bring himself to try to get Lucy back to his side.

It didn't get any better when his new girlfriend, Jenny was reluctant to let him go, reasoning that it was fine this way – that Hibiki should see all this as a chance to move on. To which he actually could agree, but it was easier said than done because he really loved Lucy.

That graduation of high school was something he hadn't been exactly looking forward to, because the realization of the possibility of not ever meeting Lucy again hit him. The summer break before the first day of college had been a hell, even if Jenny was there to comfort him. All he could think and dream of was his ex-girlfriend. He highly loathed to think of Lucy as his ex-girlfriend, because he refused to come into terms with the fact that they'd already broken up.

So, then he unintentionally, or randomly to put it right, bumped into the very same woman he'd spent his summer mourning over, on the first day of college.

Their encounter was sudden and unforeseen, but it was enough to make Hibiki feel whole again, though his one-sided happiness quickly disappeared when realizing this was the reality. That they were probably never coming back to a couple, or worse yet – they were never going to become friends again.

All because of his stupid mistakes.

Despite his desperate want to get Lucy back, and despite his strong feelings that kept growing by second, Hibiki had already decided long ago to let it be. Everything would be up to Lucy, if she wanted him to become her friend again, or boyfriend. The latter wouldn't be registered in his mind, as he probably had lost all his chances of becoming her boyfriend again.

But when he pulled her into an embrace without thinking twice, without considering Lucy's feelings, it was like a switch had been pulled down.

He started to realize that no matter hard he tried to dismiss his traitorous feelings by spending his time with Jenny, there was no way he could ever stop loving Lucy. She was his light, and from now on Hibiki would do anything to regain his light.

Even if it'd mean he had to go through another hell filled with hindrances.


	2. New face, new possibility

**Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail and its characters.**

* * *

 _Chapter 1: New face, new possibility_

* * *

Someone who was capable of predicting unforeseen fate or destiny of people's, was seemingly set on tormenting Lucy with every opportunity it got, and it was driving her completely nuts.

She had been preparing all her summer to move on at the very moment her college started, and yet her preparations had been all for naught. With the help of her best friend, she built a thick wall around her in order to not experience unnecessary emotions too easily – especially when she was during the process of moving on.

That had been for naught too, when Lucy found out her ex-boyfriend would be attending to the very same college.

Even though she'd already made it clear that she was no longer interested in trying to make it work again, her encounter with Hibiki was enough for her wall to collapse. All feelings that she spent her time pushing to the back of her head – locking them in a box and then throwing the key away – came back. She felt like a hopeless high school girl in love.

Lucy had eagerly looking forward to starting college together with her best friend Levy, whom she'd known since their freshman year of high school.

Far before she met her ex-boyfriend.

Lucy and Levy's friendship formed in an instant when finding out they shared same interests – reading and writing, where romance was their main genre. Her best friend was a great listener and good at giving advices, though most of them were rejected by Lucy as she refused to try to get in touch with Hibiki again.

There was no denying that she did want that, since she disliked the idea of not being in touch with Hibiki who was otherwise a great guy.

But Lucy wouldn't ever bring herself to let him into her life again, not after Hibiki cheated on her with Jenny who was now his current girlfriend. Which got her to eventually realize that Hibiki had never loved her as she loved him.

No matter how many times Hibiki tried to convince her to forgive him by giving him a second chance, soon followed by him declaring his love of her (which was an obvious lie), Lucy wouldn't give in. She had to stand for herself, because she wanted to learn Hibiki that he couldn't expect women to do exactly as he pleased.

Shooting herself a mental nod as to encourage herself, Lucy had by now decided to not let Hibiki's presence bother her anymore. She was more than determined to move on and new love, ignoring her aching heart at the thought of letting Hibiki go for real.

It'd undoubtedly be a tough process, but Lucy had at least her best friend by her side and the college awaiting her.

{}

She'd been mentally ready for the college to tuck a pile of assignments into her arms at the very moment she started attending, but never had she expected to find herself almost dozing off during her first classes.

The first classes had been both interesting and unbelievably boring, but it shouldn't be the cause for her to suddenly feel tired. Maybe it was because all this was new for her – new school, new faces, and new possibilities.

"Or it could be because of Hibiki," Levy suggested with a weary smile whilst she was sipping on her tea.

Lucy groaned mentally in response to the suggestion, mostly directed to the name of her ex-boyfriend's. It was surely a nice name, but she had eventually grown tired of hearing it everywhere.

"Why would he be the cause of my tiredness?" Lucy muttered quietly but audibly enough for Levy to catch up. She leaned forward to rest her head into her arms on the table.

"Because you are now aware of him attending to same school. You probably feel like you can't relax because of that fact."

Despite that Lucy couldn't quite understand what Levy meant by that, she still let out a quiet hum in response.

She knew her best friend only wanted to help her as she'd been struggling with this issue for some time – in fact, it was soon a half year – Lucy didn't feel like bringing up the topic about Hibiki. All she needed to think of was college, her friends, and moving on.

And to do precisely as she wished, she had to stop trying to find a reason to get back together with her ex-boyfriend, which was in fact something she didn't think of, but it was still lingering somewhere in her mind. She'd already long ago decided to let it be, to never interact with him again unless if necessary – although, she believed it wouldn't ever happen.

"Is your relationship going well with your boyfriend, then?"

Lucy asked, tucking her chin onto her arms as she looked up to watch her best friend blush, a small and shy pout was on Levy's lips.

Levy even shuddered once, which was enough for Lucy to grin like a fool as she leaned forward to wag her eyes suggestively.

"Tell me Levy-chan, have you lovebirds finally taken a step further?" She grinned widely in satisfaction at the way Levy blushed to the shade of bright red. "I take that as a yes. How was it – was he gentle? Rough?"

Levy sucked in a sharp breath in a pathetic attempt to calm down, to no avail as she soon choked on her own saliva – she was too nervous to act normal, which was cute to Lucy as she chuckled quietly. Lucy was about to help her, but Levy quickly recovered before crossing her arms with her cheeks puffed in embarrassment.

"He was gentle…in most ways," Levy started and shook her head once, before looking at Lucy with her eyes wide in disbelief. "Who could've known he even got his…you know down there, pierced."

After having seen Gajeel – the name of Levy's boyfriend's – being covered by piercings on his face, especially his eyebrows, it'd honestly be no surprise if he was having piercings on his lower part. It still left Lucy to crack up in amusement, clutching her hands over her lips in a half-hearted attempt to quiet down as to not disturb the others nearby on the cafeteria.

It felt good to laugh.

Ever since her breakup with Hibiki she had not had it in her, the ability to laugh. She wasn't even able to bring herself to laugh at her favorite comedic dramas – everything felt too gray by then.

When getting to know that her best friend had finally got a boyfriend, it was like Lucy found a reason to be happy for real – she was truly happy for Levy, so glad that Levy had finally found someone who cared a great deal about her and vice versa.

Lucy found them cute and adorable together, even if Gajeel could look somewhat scary because of his constant grim expression, but he had a good personality.

The realization soon hit her that it was time for both of them to head back to their classroom, to have another and last class for today; Creative Writing. It'd be an understatement if they were looking forward to it, because it was something they were greatly interested in.

"Let's go, Levy-chan," Lucy smiled as she rose up from her seat, grabbing her paper mug with some cold tea left.

She had unfortunately not realized there was someone walking past her, as she turned around hastily only to bump into a muscular chest – and unfortunately for the said guy, the process made Lucy spill her cold tea on him.

The sound of the guy's surprised yelp made her snap out of it. "Oh my god, I am so sorry!" Lucy lifted her chin to find a tall guy in a suit – expect for the jacket that hung on his forearm, his sleeves were rolled up to his elbows – he had orange spiky hair and his eyes were hidden behind his azure tinted sunglasses.

Lucy was not sure what had brought into her all of a sudden, but the appearance of this orange haired guy in a suit got her breathless and she actually found herself blushing slightly.

She then lowered her eyes to the wet spot on the chest area of his white shirt, suddenly remembering what had happened and she was the responsible one. Lucy backed to leave them considerate space, to bow with her hands clasped together in front of her face.

"I'm really sorry, it was not on purpose!"

He chuckled quietly in amusement and beckoned her to stand, waving his hand in dismissal. "It is only water, so it's okay. Will dry soon enough."

It was true that it was only water, but it still left her with uneasiness – after all, his suit seemed expensive – Lucy straightened herself and twirled a strand of hair with her finger. She huffed quietly in disagreement, before looking up to meet the guy's gaze.

The mutual eye contact suddenly sent her a shot of electricity down her spine, catching her off guard enough to become breathless for a moment.

Why was she feeling like this?

"Still, I have to make up to you for that," Lucy tried to reason with a small smile. "Is there anything I can do for you?"

Instead of answering her question in an instant, the orange haired guy hummed quietly in consideration as he looked at her, sometimes he traveled his eyes down her body. Which made Lucy cringe in discomfort, as she regretted having suggested something like this when she did in fact not know him at all.

She looked at her best friend over her shoulder for a short moment as to quietly ask Levy what the guy was up to – to which Levy shrugged with a troubled expression – Lucy turned around to meet the guy's gaze.

He was smiling faintly and waving a hand. "It's cool, really. But if you insist," He leaned forward to catch Lucy's hand, surprisingly planting a gentle kiss on the back of her hand. "Let's be friends."

{}

The last class that was supposed to be interesting and funny since Lucy and Levy themselves were interested, or enthusiastic to put it right, in anything that got to do with writing, was actually not worth paying attention to.

Not now, anyways.

That was what her brain suddenly decided.

Ever since her first and sudden encounter with the orange haired guy in a suit, whose name was Loke, her mind was strangely occupied by him – especially his stunning appearance. There was something with him that was enough for Lucy to want to talk to him more.

She could even still feel the warmth on the back of her hand where Loke kissed – although, she couldn't understand why he'd done that as it was completely unnecessary. Maybe that was his personality, to treat women like princesses, or queens. The idea of him doing that to the others didn't sit well with her for some reason, but she chose to not investigate further into it.

Tracing her knuckles absentmindedly, Lucy smiled at the realization that she could see a possibility in her new male friend.

What kind of possibility it would be, she didn't know.

But she was oddly sure Loke had a lot of possibilities to offer her – and she'd be happy to accept them. Lucy looked forward to getting to know him better.


	3. Jealously and Sunshine

I'm so sorry that it took forever to update, I've had issues with this chapter. I'd like to thank Mako (sen whitefox mako red demon) for coming up with some ideas! It's been very helpful, thank you so much! C:

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail and its characters.**

* * *

 _Chapter 2: Jealously and Sunshine_

* * *

 **Hibiki Lates**

Jealously was not a correct concept to describe his current mood even if that was exactly what he had been feeling lately, but he did not have the right to be jealous.

Envy was more of a suitable concept in this case as Lucy was not his girlfriend anymore.

Hibiki could not do anything in his (nonexistent, imaginative) power to force down the monster named Jealously gnawing at his insides; it kept expanding into a more ugly creature that would be able to overtake his morality. Then do something nasty in order to get Lucy back.

But he was perfectly aware he should not do such as doing something that was not fitting her definition of acceptance, and approval, if he wanted her back by his side. He had to gulp down the ugly creature and lock it away somewhere in a box made of iron.

It was just that no matter how hard he tried, Hibiki couldn't remain calm and behold a neutral expression after accidentally witnessing a scenario between Lucy and an _infamous_ Loke a moment ago.

He was about to pass the cafeteria on the way to the next class, his hand tucked loosely into Jenny's, when his senses were suddenly alerted. He had to turn his head to watch as his ex-girlfriend bumped into Loke, her paper mug collided with his chest, which resulted in the small amount of liquid splashing on the white shirt.

The unfortunate incident made Hibiki smirk without realizing it, since Loke deserved it. But what happened next made his smirk drop, and a growl escaped his throat, to which Jenny questioned with a lifted eyebrow.

 _Loke is putting on a gross smile and waving a hand, saying something to Lucy. Then he's suddenly leaning forward to grab her hand, placing a gross kiss on the back of her precious hand. Then he says something with a smirk that causes Lucy to blush._

Another growl escaped.

Jenny stopped in her tracks all of a sudden, making Hibiki halt as well, before turning around to look at him with annoyance shown in her blue eyes.

"What is up with you?"

The question made Hibiki snap out of it, not having realized he'd been in his small bubble. He glanced down to his girlfriend and arched an eyebrow at her in confusion.

Jenny rolled her eyes and huffed at his lack of understanding at the moment, before she averted away. Just to widen her eyes at something.

" _Hibiki_ ," She emphasized his name as if she was just about to scold him. Her arms crossed below her chest when she looked up to him. "We have talked about this _countless times_."

"What?"

Hibiki was honestly clueless, because it was not the first time Jenny mentioned about having talked about something several times, in which each time was about different topic.

"It is about damn time you come over her!" Jenny spat annoyingly, her eyebrows knitted together. "You have broken up six months ago already!"

Hibiki frowned.

He knew Jenny was right; he should already have come over Lucy long ago – after all, it had been half a year. He was truly sorry for having Jenny put up with him mourning over his ex-girlfriend all this time, which often left him to wonder what she wanted to gain by this.

His love? Being in a relationship with someone whose appearance was perfect – according to the other girls?

He did like Jenny yes, but he could honestly never return her affection since he was still in love with his ex-girlfriend.

Why was Hibiki in a relationship with Jenny now again?

He formed a drained exhalation, raking a hand through his hair as he took a step forward. "Rea-chan–"

"How many times have I told you to call me by my first name, and not my shortened surname with an honorific?"

Hibiki was a little taken aback. He didn't know himself why he had chosen to not call Jenny by her first name, maybe it was because it did actually not sit well with him.

He sighed again and choked out an apology, before deciding they should leave for class.

{}

He hated it with his whole heart, with such a burning passion that it clenched his chest painfully.

The scenario was flashing in his mind non-stop, almost as if a repeat button had been broken by clicking it all the time. He couldn't forget the way Lucy blushed because of the kiss on the back of her hand.

It was only a small kiss!

So, why was she blushing like that?

Tapping the end of his pen on the upper corner of his papers, Hibiki tucked his chin onto the palm of his hand as he absently listened to the teacher giving a lecture of whatever that was not worth paying attention to at the moment. He had a great measure of knowledge on about anything, to which he was eventually pointed out to be one of the intelligent students, but it did not mean he would allow himself to doze off during classes like he was doing right now.

It would be an understatement if he decided to take on the role of Trimens' womanizer, and blame on his girlfriend for having caused him to become like this, _floating on ninth fluffy cloud_. Just to be an adorable guy asking the teacher for forgiveness on his absence.

Though, it was not Jenny who occupied a major part of his brain, and heart; it was Lucy.

Lucy.

How could he have been so stupid?

Hibiki had girlfriends many times, perhaps over one hundred girlfriends over years – he was not one to keep track in this one – yet Lucy was the only one he truly liked. It was the first time he fell in love with someone, for real.

Just taking a look at Lucy was like looking at the light by the end of a tunnel, then after finally exiting the darkness he was suddenly rewarded by the whole world sparkling beautifully. Her entire existence made his life whole, and Hibiki wanted nothing else.

He felt true happiness and he had been looking forward to spending the rest of his life with Lucy.

Everything was perfect. Until one day half a year ago.

* * *

His memory was blurry as to what happened the previous day, but an early morning he was waking up with a terrible headache harassing his head. He had been about to sit up and try to lessen the ache by rubbing his temples, only to feel an arm draped across his abdomen. A fond smile was put upon his lips as he realized it was Lucy.

He dipped his head to take in the sight of his beloved girlfriend snuggled up to him, but the color drained on his face in an instant when he saw Jenny instead of Lucy.

The realization finally drowned on him as he quickly recoiled away from Jenny, shaking his head in complete disbelief and he felt how the tears started to swell up in the corners of his corners. He was usually not one to cry, but this incident made him feel completely horrible and guilty.

To make things worse, Jenny who was still in her sleep wrapped her arms around his neck just at the moment a door opened. Revealing none else than Lucy herself.

Hibiki quickly opened his mouth for an explanation, jumping out of the bed and ignoring the fact that he was still undressed, but no words were formed. It made him feel like he had done this on purpose but did not want to get caught, which was not true as he would never do this to her.

He gasped in panic as he almost stumbled while putting on his pants, trying to apologize to Lucy in the meanwhile. Only to allow her to slap him across his cheek.

Tears were dripping down her cheeks, betrayal and hurt were shown in her brown orbs. She opened her mouth but clenched her jaw tightly.

Then she turned around swiftly, took in an inhalation slowly and then exhaled as she made her move to leave. "We are through!"

* * *

Hibiki sighed heavily, his shoulders dropped in agony as he remembered the past.

A few weeks after their abrupt breakup, he had felt too lonely that he'd foolishly decided to make Jenny his new girlfriend – because he didn't have the courage to find a way to make his and Lucy's relationship start anew. They didn't even have a proper talk about what happened.

Sure, these declarations of love he made had happened countless times but he had never brought himself to initiate a proper conversation. He was...too desperate to think straight, because he was afraid for losing Lucy for good.

Which was sadly true.

Lucy.

He really needed to talk to her. No matter how reluctant she might be to the idea, they _needed_ to sort out everything.

And then, maybe, Lucy would give him another chance. And forget that Loke.

 **Lucy Heartfilia**

It was one of those regular days where she had the day off along with some of her friends, and Lucy sat by a table on their usual cafeteria located near the shopping mall. She was swirling an index finger around the top of her cup of honey tea, as she listened to the quarrel between Levy and her boyfriend, Gajeel.

What they were bickering about, Lucy couldn't fully grasp onto but she did enjoy the exchanges of various expressions on their faces.

Childish but adorable pouts in which Gajeel's heart was to give in as it was slowly melting in anticipation of her forgiveness, but he reluctantly stiffened with his usual grim expression in order to show his stubbornness. Levy huffed loudly, turning away with her arms crossed.

"What is up with you two, huh, lovebirds?" Lucy couldn't help but chuckle lightly at the moment the couple looked over to her, a disoriented look on their faces as they wasn't sure what to say.

Soon Levy released a drained exhalation, a hand reaching up to tug the loose end of her headband. "It's silly, really."

"Told you it was silly, Shrimp!"

"Oh, stop calling me that!"

Lucy decided it would be best for her to retreat for now, leaning back into her seat and sitting on her honey tea.

A teasing grin was creeping its way upon his lips as Gajeel crossed his arms, arching a pierced eyebrow at his girlfriend. "I'll consider it if you stop being so small."

Levy groaned in exasperation as she flung her arms up, soon rising up from her seat. "Well, I'll go…" She tried to think of an excuse, looking around at the cafeteria and then down at an astonished Lucy. "Lucy-chan, let's go and powder our noses! We will be right back!"

With that, Levy reached forward to grab onto Lucy's wrist and dragged her all the way to the restroom, leaving behind Gajeel who was complaining quietly under his breath.

Lucy yelped surprisingly as it happened too fast, and she didn't even have had a change to place her half empty cup on the table. They didn't really go to the restroom since there was not one at this cafeteria, but Levy did make sure they were out of her boyfriend's sight.

Walking around a corner of the cash, which caught the cashier's attention out of curiosity for a short moment but was quickly distracted by a customer who wished to order something, Levy let out a short huff of sigh. "That guy is really something."

"What happened?"

Levy shrugged and puffed her cheeks. "It's just that we have gone out of almost a year by now, and… Gajeel has never called me by my name. Not even once."

It made Lucy gasp in disbelief; she would have went nuts if someone didn't call her by her name or a nickname that got to do with it after all this time. She pulled her best friend into a hug which was an attempt to comfort Levy somehow.

"Maybe he is too shy," Lucy mumbled while hugging her best friend tighter, to which Lucy yelped quietly asking her to be gentle. "Oh I'm sorry–hey Levy-chan, I just thought of something."

Levy pulled herself away from the comforting hug to look up to Lucy, her eyebrows rising out of interest as she waited for Lucy to continue.

What Lucy was about to suggest would definitely sound silly, but laughable, she couldn't help it; "Maybe Gajeel is still not sure how to pronounce your name correctly."

It took her friend a short moment to react, a stunned expression was shown on her face, and her eyebrows lifted staring blankly ahead as if she had just seen a ghost. But then Levy burst into fits of giggles, clutching her arms over her stomach to keep the tone down as to not receive any unnecessary attention.

"The former makes more sense than the latter," Levy drew a long breath, sighed but accidentally let out another giggle. "Still, it makes me want to tease him."

Lucy pulled the corners of her lips up into a small but genuine smile; sometimes she couldn't help but miss being a relationship. She was not ready to jump to new relationship with someone, since she should let everything, mostly herself time to adjust to the changes.

A short but quiet sigh escaped her throat, making her shoulders drop as Lucy watched as Levy made her way over to Gajeel – quickly forming an attempted plan to tease him about the whole name thing.

What happened next surprised Levy, and Lucy, was that Gajeel was oddly reddening all of a sudden, abruptly denying the possibility that he was still having trouble with pronouncing Levy's name correctly.

"Really?"

Lucy mumbled to herself, shaking her head in disbelief at the confirmation. Even though she truly felt sorry for her best friend, she found it hilarious that she couldn't help but chuckle.

"Really what?"

She jolted, almost dropping her cup in the process, startled by the sound of a masculine voice coming out of nowhere. Hesitantly, she turned around slowly only to find a guy who was dressed in a suit, sporting a pair of azure sunglasses – none else than Loke.

The sudden encounter made the blood rush up to her cheeks, making Lucy lose the ability to speak for the moment.

For whatever reason Loke found her temporary instability hilarious that it caused him to pull his lips into a lopsided smirk. He adjusted his sunglasses, before bending to take her free hand in his.

He cast her a quick look as to ask for her permission, in which Lucy didn't have a chance to have a say because of herself being frozen and blushing like a fool. It didn't seem to hinder him from a planting a peck on the back of her hand.

"Loke!"

Lucy had finally found herself again, but the difference was that she was still blushing to which she had to turn away to hide her embarrassment. She retracted her hand to drop it to her side, letting herself take a moment to recollect herself once again – the thoughts of what just happened were swirling around in her mind non-stop.

Why did Loke do that? Was it his way to greet women?

The latter idea left Lucy a feeling of unsettling, as it reminded her of someone certain but she decided to force it down. Because she knew Hibiki and Loke were definitely different people.

Lucy lifted her chin to meet Loke's gaze, a smile was spreading across her face when seeing his smile.

He seemed to be infectious when it came to his smiles, but Lucy didn't mind because it was in a good way of course.

"Hey, Loke."

"How is my sunshine doing?"

His sunshine?

For some reason that didn't come to mind, Lucy found it nice to be called sunshine. Though she wasn't sure how to react to Loke viewing her as _his_ sunshine, which would be an understatement considering the fact that they recently met.

Tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, Lucy smiled again. "I'm all good, how about you?"

Loke pushed his sunglasses up again, a smirk crept its way upon his lips as he stepped forward to throw an arm cross Lucy's shoulders, holding her tightly for a short moment. Which made Lucy want to recoil, but she remained still as to not cause any kind of misunderstanding between them.

So all she did was try to pretend like she wasn't affected by it at all, as she reminded herself quietly that this was nothing similar to her ex-boyfriend. The thoughts of Hibiki made her heart ache.

Why did she have to remember him now in front of Loke?

Why were they–

"I'm doing better with you around, sunshine."

–why did they have similar, flirtatious personality?

Lucy mentally shook her head, scolding herself for thinking something like that. It might be true that both of Hibiki and Loke happened to be flirty, but it didn't mean they were the same person.

She had to remember that.

Quickly coming back to herself from her small world, Lucy looked up to Loke with an amused chuckle bubbling up her throat. "Is that so?"

"Of course, sunshine," Loke nodded proudly and if Lucy saw right considering his sunglasses; he winked at her.

She couldn't help but giggle quietly to herself, feeling a little shy at her new nickname – although she couldn't understand why she was called that when she was nothing like sunshine. Stepping away to allow Loke drop his arm, Lucy quirked at her lips as she pointed to her friends.

"They are my friends."

And with that, she asked Loke if he wanted to join her and her friends, and he immediately accepted.


	4. Confrontation

As you might know, I used to be YoYosuke but I decided to change it to Sokizami. The same as my url on Tumblr, even though I rarely get on Tumblr nowadays... Do feel free to follow me there, or something! : )

Oh, and I'm sorry for the late update! I'm actually not fully satisfied with this chapter but I don't want to rewrite the entire chapter...which I have done a few times. I really try to not rush this, but I'm not used to "keeping the red thread" so I'm sorry if this seems rushed. I really tried my best!

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail and its characters.**

* * *

 _Chapter 3: Confrontation_

* * *

Soulmates was undoubtedly an exciting topic among people. The idea of having a soulmate, having found someone as one's other significant half and living with them rest for the life – it was beautiful.

Sometimes exchanging a single eye contact with a stranger, or it could be a friend too, could help one to suddenly come to realize that someone was the other significant half. With that in mind, her body felt like it had frozen up and transformed completely into an ice cube, as she leaned reluctantly with her back against the wall.

Nervously swallowing down the tingling feelings and heat in the pit of her stomach, a traitorous dark blush coating her cheeks, she watched as he slowly approached her. Soon trapped between the wall and him as he slammed his palm above her shoulders.

"Don't hate me for this."

He spoked with a dark but rich voice that caused her heart to melt, before leaning in to have his lips brush against hers feathery.

She had a strong urge to stop him by using whatever method that came to mind; push him off, slap him across the cheek. Anything to prevent him from what he intended to do but at the same time, she lost her own power and reasoning, betrayed by this traitorous part of herself that pleaded desperately to go along with the kiss.

They might be soulmates, they might be the right ones for each other despite their mistakes. But this was wrong, oh so wrong.

* * *

 **Loke**

He couldn't put a finger on it, but there was undeniably something about this woman that intrigued, piqued his interest and curiosity that it made him want to get to know her better. Maybe it was due to his experiences from having spent limitless time with humans, specifically women, he had noticed that Lucy had built an inner wall around herself, seeming reluctant to allow unknown people to come into her life.

But why?

It was obvious that Lucy had a reason for this, maybe something happened that caused her to become traumatized; she did seem doubtful on occasions in the meanwhile they spent some time together. Loke wanted to ask her. Not only because he wanted to know and quench his curiosity and whatnot, but because he was genuinely concerned and he was slowly starting to grow fond of her.

It might sound odd for someone like him – a womanizer – but recently he found himself wanting to be the one wiped everything bad off Lucy. Everything that bothered or hurt her.

He...wanted to be there for her. He wanted her to be happy.

"Hey Loke! Slacking off all of a sudden?"

Jolted by a hand clasping down on his shoulder, Loke snapped out of his bubble and turned around to find his dark haired friend grinning smugly at him.

"Don't scare me like that, Gray," Loke shook his head in disapproval with a small smile.

"Sorry about that. It's unlike you to space out like that," Gray mumbled and rolled his shoulders, and rubbed the back of his head. He was about to say something but got cut off by the school bell. "Oh, it's time to go back to class."

Loke was curious, and wanted to ask his friend what he meant by it was unlike him to space out. He was sure it was pretty normal for anyone to do that once in a while. But he decided to give it another time, as it was probably nothing of importance.

But then as he was about to catch up to his friend who left him behind, not wanting to be late, Loke caught a glimpse of blonde hair in the hallway. Despite that the sight was unclear because the distance between them was pretty far, he knew it was Lucy.

The very woman who strangely started plaguing his mind, whose soul was full of mysteries that he was willing to find and solve.

Loke found himself putting on a smile openly when seeing Lucy laugh at someone her friend said, but he forced it down in pretense nothing happened. He wasn't going to get caught by someone like that, smiling like a complete fool, although he couldn't understand why he was getting self-conscious all of a sudden. He was used to people seeing him being all flashy, flirting with women and whatnot.

He heard Gray call out to him, yelling at him to hurry up before the class began. He nodded in reply and took a last look at Lucy before making his way to classroom.

Loke was definitely looking forward to getting to know Lucy Heartfilia better, and, maybe, see if this could lead to something more than friendship. Of course, he wouldn't focus on it in the first hand.

{}

In the meanwhile they had this class in which their homeroom teacher stood by the smartboard, predicating loudly about an upcoming test, Gray hadn't once zipped his mouth shut. He annoyed Loke to the point Loke wanted to tell him to shut up. But he couldn't do that, because they were in the middle of a class and Loke wouldn't want to explain himself and why Gray asked him repeatedly about that woman in a teasing manner.

It was honestly odd of Gray to question his relationship with women, as the both of them knew how he was being around women and Gray was usually indifferent. It wasn't even clear how he found out about the interaction between Loke and that blonde woman (Lucy).

Loke hadn't intended to keep it a secret from Gray, and his other friends. It just slipped his mind since he was lately getting overly occupied with thoughts of Lucy. His entire world revolved around her all of a sudden, even though they met for the first time not so long ago.

Maybe this was what they would call it. Love at first sight.

But Loke was not one to settle down with someone only because he might happen to develop romantic feelings (which had never been the case for him, to be honest), but the idea was undeniably nice. He shouldn't say too much right now since there was no way to see what the future had to offer. Except for those fortune tellers with their crystal balls, but maybe the next time he was in a relationship, he would try to settle down.

"Come on, Loke," Gray grinned teasingly. "Who is she? Your new girlfriend?"

"Why are you _so_ curious all of a sudden?"

Gray shrugged. "It's the first time I see you space out because of a girl. She has to be special."

Loke appeared expressionless as to not react to the statement, but he did smile inwardly agreeing with his friend on that. It was true, Lucy Heartfilia was special somehow.

It didn't take too long for the class to be over, maybe another fifteen minutes based on the teacher's predication about that test coming up in two weeks. To which Loke hadn't really paid attention, since his mind was full of thoughts of Lucy.

He snorted quietly with a smile at the realization that this was not like him at all, he had to give Gray the credit for pointing that out. He wasn't in love, he knew that much...he only wanted to know Lucy better.

Ignoring the fact that the determination didn't sit well with him, even though it was the truth but Loke knew there was more to it. He just didn't want to look further into it at the moment.

He looked up from his desk to find Gray nodding at him, bidding his goodbye and wishing him good luck with that blonde woman, before Gray left the classroom on the way to meet his girlfriend somewhere. But just then as Gray was about to exit the classroom, he was stopped in his tracks by their classmate, Cana Alberona who called out to him and pointed out his sudden lack of shirt.

Gray shrieked in disbelief as he flung his arms up. "Not this again!"

"You are such an exhibitionist doofus!" Cana laughed hysterically and slapped a hand on her knee. Then she threw Gray a shirt. "Here you go. Just don't scare your girlfriend, alright?"

Gray blushed in both embarrassment and shame, as he hurried to pick up his shirt. Putting it on, he told Cana to shut up before quickly leaving the classroom before Cana could say anything more.

Loke smiled in amusement as he just finished packing his stuff, putting the band of his school bag over his shoulder. He couldn't help but wonder what Lucy was up to.

{}

As he might not know where she could be at the moment – if she was in the middle of a class, or at cafeteria with her friends or somewhere else – he was wandering aimlessly in the school building in hopes of finding Lucy. Pure luck was all he could ask for, since he didn't want to suddenly ask someone if they knew Lucy's whereabouts. He didn't have anything else to do before the next class started, which was in two hours, and he was sure Gray was too busy with his girlfriend to accompany him. Not that Loke minded, of course.

When he turned around a corner that would lead to the staircases, his body collided all of a sudden with a small and soft body whose feminine voice released a highlighted, surprised yelp.

Widening his eyes in surprise at the sudden incident, Loke quickly recoiled and panicked when he heard the sound of thud occurring shortly after that yelp. He lowered his head to find none else than Lucy sitting on her bottom on the floor with a few notebooks spread around her. He didn't pay attention to the sudden tug at his chest because of the sight of that very blonde woman, instead he crouched to collect the notebooks while Lucy sat up properly on her knees and dusted the dirt off her skirt.

"I apologize. Are you okay, Lucy?" Loke asked, waiting for Lucy to put her books in her handbag, and offered her a hand so that he could help her stand up.

She smiled and nodded, accepting his offer by placing her hand in his, and allowed him to pull her up. Loke could swear that he felt the sudden leap in his heart at the very contact of their hands, but he swallowed it down as to not let his reaction get too obvious. He was a little reluctant to let her hand go but he reminded himself to not rush her to anything, so he released it.

"I'm sorry too. I wasn't watching where I walked."

He smiled smugly. "We keep bumping into each other. It is an unusual way to greet people, isn't it?"

"That's true," Lucy giggled and covered her mouth to be quiet as to not gain attention from the passerby bystanders. "We should probably find another greeting."

Loke hummed and tapped his chin with an index finger as if he gave it a serious thought. "What do you say," He grinned jokingly as he stretched out his arms. "A hug?"

He grinned wider when seeing as Lucy's cheeks turned rosy at his suggestion, it boosted his pride a little that he couldn't help but wink at her. He remained still, keeping his gaze on her, and waited for her to say or do something.

"Uh sure..."

 **Lucy Heartfilia**

It might sound ridiculous but here she was standing completely still and stiff, as if she had transformed to an ice cube. Feverish warmth spread across her cheeks, causing her to get little dizzy, but she was quick to recollect herself.

She had hugged people and even strangers a countless, except that Loke was no longer a stranger to her, so she would usually have no problem with it. But this time...it was like her shyness suddenly showed up and took over her body system, making it difficult for her to react as she wished.

Why was she like this all of a sudden?

A sudden thought crossed her mind, reminding her excitingly that she was like this around Hibiki in the beginning before they started going out.

She shook her head inwardly, scolding herself for thinking of her ex-boyfriend. There was no point in dwelling on the past, she had to focus on the present!

With that in mind, Lucy looked up to Loke with a shy curving against her lips. She stepped forward slowly because she was pretty nervous, then carefully slipping arms around him.

"Sure, why not?"

She hitched on her breath, tensing up when she felt a pair of arms wrapping around her shoulders, pulling her in close and tight. Allowing her to feel how broad and firm his chest was, which she blushed slightly at. She released a quiet sigh as she took the courage to tighten the hug in return as well, before loosening up and pulling away.

She averted her eyes, feeling too shy to make an eye contact with Loke, and scratched her cheek lightly. "That was, uh, nice..."

"Agreed, my sunshine," Loke smiled softly, and unconsciously reached down to grab her hand, which made her jolt in surprise even though it was not the first time he did that. "Are you free?"

It was firstly planned that she was to hang out with her friends before the next and last class began, but as the realization hit her that she actually wanted to be with Loke to know him better and so on, Lucy was sure Levy would understand. Maybe it was time for her to leave Levy and Gajeel alone for a while.

Lucy smiled. "Yes, I am."

Luke hummed in approval, as he walked around to swing an arm across her shoulders, his fingers trailing down her upper arm gently. "How about we go on a date?"

" _Date?!_ "

"Friendly date could work too," He snickered in amusement.

Lucy sighed in exasperation, not believing that she was actually going to let this slide for now. The idea of going out on a date, friendly or not, with Loke was surprisingly exciting that she looked forward to it. Real or not.

{}

"Are you serious?"

"Absolutely serious, sunshine."

They had randomly chosen to spend their "friendly date" at the school library, since they probably won't have time to go somewhere outside school before their next class started. They sat by a table near the windows, and faced the other while coming up with questions as to get to know each other.

As for now, Lucy was astonished and positively surprised by the revelation which Loke apparently held a secret unknown by the most on here. He mentioned that he had only a friend in this school, who knew about the secret. Gray Fullbuster was that friend's name.

She wasn't sure why Loke decided to tell her that secret – they weren't even at _that_ level of friendship. But she wouldn't say she disliked it, because telling her secrets would mean that he trusted her.

Of course, Lucy trusted him too.

Closing the book she picked up from one of the shelves from before, Lucy looked up at Loke who smiled amusingly while adjusting his glasses. "But why would you keep your real name a secret? Leo is such an adorable name!"

Loke's smile vanished and was replaced with a frown which made Lucy wonder if she had done something wrong. He ran a hand through his hair and shook his head.

"Personal reasons. But it's nothing, really," Loke averted his eyes for a moment to avoid the eye contact out of uncertainty, but then he looked at Lucy again with a gentle smile curving against his lips. "Thank you for the compliment, though. It's not like I hate my real name, because I don't but–"

Loke got cut off by the sound of school bell ringing.

He sighed lightly and rose up from his seat. "Oh well, sunshine. It'd been such a pleasure to go out on a date with you. But," His smile went wider as though everything was normal again, catching Lucy off guard with a sudden fluttering feeling in her heart. He picked her book up, and took her hand again in his free hand (was this a habit of his?). "Let's go on a _real_ date next time."

Lucy couldn't help but smile shyly as she nodded in agreement, even if she was feeling a little bothered by the revelation.

What would possibly be the reason Loke decided to keep his real name a secret?

She was sure she never loathed the school bell as much as she did right now.

{}

Exiting the school library and bidding each other goodbye and wishing good luck with their classes, they parted into different directions. Loke would be on the end of a hallway on first floor while Lucy was to be on the second floor.

At the moment he disappeared completely out of the sight, Lucy couldn't help but allow a smile to tug at her lips upwards, so widely that her front teeth were visible.

There was something about Loke that made her feel like this...like whole. He could make her laugh and smile – for real.

Her friends, Levy and Gajeel, were always able to make her laugh but it'd always felt like there was a missing piece in her heart. And Loke filled that very piece, making her feel whole.

It might sound silly to feel like this for someone she recently met, but she knew what she felt was genuine.

Although, she wasn't sure if she–

"Lucy."

Lucy jumped in shock, startled by the sudden voice coming from nowhere behind her. She was about to turn around to find out who it was, but was suddenly grabbed on her wrist and dragged to somewhere. It was too sudden for her to be able to register what just happened.

"What– _ouch!_ " She yelped when she was forcefully pushed to a well, and she soon noticed that she and someone were under the staircases.

"What is going on between you and _him?_ "

Lucy blinked twice to make the dizziness disappear, her vision was actually spiraling lightly after all that. She lifted her chin to look at the person in front of her, only to flinch and freeze up.

She would never forget those dark eyes and noticeably long eyelashes. In a single heartbeat, she immediately knew who it was even when they were too close.

"Lates...?" She swallowed thickly, feeling like her heart was set on jumping off her chest in nervousness, at any time. Scrunching her face up in distaste at the uncomfortable closeness, she noticed how tightly her wrist was grabbed by him. "Release me, you're hurting me."

"Ah–I'm sorry," Hibiki muttered quietly and let her wrist go, and stepped back to give her a considerate space. But they were still close.

Lucy looked down to her folded hands while Hibiki was scratching his cheek lightly, the both of them avoiding the eye contact completely. She hated how her heart hammered quickly against her ribcage, she disliked how Hibiki managed to awaken her feelings that she attempted to lock away.

Why did this closeness make her unstable, unable to move or do anything at all?

As the silence was slowly enveloping the atmosphere, making this painfully awkward, Lucy shook her head. "I have to go."

Recollecting herself in determination, she was about to walk past her ex-boyfriend but was stopped by Hibiki grabbing her wrist again. Which annoyed her greatly that she glared hard at him, silently asking him to let her go.

"Answer my question," Hibiki looked up at her with seriousness shown in his dark eyes, his jaw tightened as to show that he really wanted, _needed_ to know.

"What question?" Lucy softened with a confused expression, arching an eyebrow at him.

He sighed in exasperation as if he found it absurd that he had to repeat himself, but then he smiled weakly. The smile seemed forced that it made Lucy's heart sink (unwillingly).

"Are you and _that Loke_ a couple?"

"What...no! We are not!" Lucy blushed, her cheeks turned bright red but it didn't last long until she hardened with a frown because of the way Hibiki emphasized Loke's name like it was venomous to him. "That's none of your business by the way, Lates."

With that, she harshly yanked her hand from grip, huffing loudly in distaste as she looked away from him. Annoyance burned in her chest despite the accelerating pace her heart was on for some other reason. But she couldn't do as she pleased, apparently, because Hibiki quickly stepped over to stand in the way for her.

It was then she saw how displeased Hibiki was by the way he put on a frowned expression, his eyebrows knitted together, jaw tightened, lips pressed into a thin line. It made her want to take back everything she said – traitorous feelings!

But she didn't let that happen.

Because Hibiki had no right to be upset!

Why should it matter to him who she was with...if he had been... _unfaithful?_

And yet...

Lucy swallowed again out of nervousness, trying to calm down her racing heart while she slowly stepped backwards until her back met the wall. Her hands scanned around to find something to grab onto as support but to no luck, and she looked away to avoid the eye contact as Hibiki approached her.

He slammed his hands over her shoulders on the wall.

Her breath came to a halt, all she could hear was her own heartbeats vibrating in her ears. Her stomach leaped nervously, getting filled butterflies.

She hated feeling like this around the guy whom she was supposed to get over, but no matter how hard she tried, her feelings would just return like nothing happened. She hated this especially because she had recently started taking an interest in someone else.

But she didn't have the chance to think of Loke, because next thing happened was...

"It's my business because I still..." Hibiki nibbled on his lower lip, before he put his hands on Lucy's cheeks.

His thumbs caressed her cheekbones, causing Lucy to sigh without realizing it since she had always melted to his touch. But she came back to herself, reminding herself that this was not the time to fool around (she did have a class to attend to, too), and tried to pull away but to no avail as she was actually trapped between the wall and him.

She cursed herself mentally for letting Hibiki do as he pleased, not to mention she didn't realize it at first.

"L-let me go, Lates..."

Hibiki did nothing to let her go, instead he held her cheeks firmly but gently as to not hurt her – which Lucy was grateful, but she didn't want this. He tilted her up to face him fully, and Lucy swore that her chest was clenched tightly and painfully when she saw those apparent emotions swirling in his dark eyes.

Affection. Love.

Her heart swelled with warm but sweet sensation at these emotions.

She sighed lightly.

"Lucy...don't hate me for this," Hibiki whispered quietly but audibly for her to pick up, as he slowly leaned in to press his lips against hers.

It wasn't even a kiss, only a touch, but the contact was still enough for Lucy to tense up and take in a sharp breath. It seemed like Hibiki did that as well, as he soon exhaled slightly, before leaning further into the kiss but slowly to ask for her permission.

Lucy knew this was wrong.

She shouldn't grant the wish he desired. But his lips...she couldn't bring herself to deny that she missed these lips so much. They made it hard for her to resist the kiss. _Him._

When he dropped his hands to wrap them around her waist, pulling her close to him, Lucy saw it as a chance to push him off. She slid her hands up his chest but instead of doing what she intended to, she threw them around his neck to deepen the kiss.

She should pull away and slap him across the cheek, yell at him for doing this. Anything to stop this.

But she couldn't.

"Hibi–..."

She breathed his name but stopped in the midway as an image of Loke showed up in her mind all of a sudden. _Loke._

"Lucy, I still lo–"

" _Hibiki!_ Where are you?"

The sudden feminine voice which didn't belong to Lucy, caused them to snap out as they abruptly parted and put on a considerate space as if nothing happened. The both of them looked quite lost, not grasping onto what just happened.

Lucy felt ill at ease when she suddenly remembered that Hibiki actually had a girlfriend, and it was enough for Lucy to run away from the staircases. She had enough of all this. Completely ignoring Hibiki who desperately called out to her, she didn't realize she just passed Jenny whose blue eyes widened in understanding.

"Lucy, wait–"

" _Hibiki Lates!_ What's going on?!"

"–not now, Rea-chan!"

Lucy couldn't hear the rest of conversation since she were already far away from the staircases, not having an idea what direction she was running to. But judging by there was no sound of footsteps behind her, she was convinced that Hibiki was stopped by Jenny.

The tears started gathered in the corners of her eyes because of regret, a few drops dripped down her cheeks, and Lucy had to ask herself:

"How could I be so, _so_ stupid?"


	5. Love Interest

I am so sorry for the super late update. I've been struggling with this story, not knowing where I want to go with this. I still don't, so I'm not quite confident in this. Have mercy on me...

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail and its characters.**

* * *

 _Chapter 4: Love Interest_

* * *

She didn't think she would feel so ill at ease to the point it felt like her bad conscience gnawed at her insides as the regret burned in her chest, making her have trouble with finding her regular breathing. No matter how hard she tried to put them away in a box somewhere hidden in her mind like nothing happened, these memories of that certain incident from the other day kept replaying as though it scolded her for having given in to her _past_ feelings. She was supposed to bury them long ago, as she was determined to not get interactive with Hibiki in order to erase her feelings completely, but it had been for naught when her determination decided to crumple into pieces because of the encounter with him.

And the kiss.

Remembering the kiss was the most trivial action that worsened her conscience – Lucy was unbelievable for thinking about how she "finally" kissed those lips and how she missed the way he kissed, even if it was for a brief moment.

She wanted to slap herself for that. She was supposed to move on and not fall back to square one!

Upset and disappointed with herself, Lucy reflected on her actions and wondered how she could have allowed herself to make such mistake. She was sure Jenny already figured what happened between them, and it left Lucy to wonder what happened after she ran away.

Did they put an end to their relationship or did Jenny decide to forgive Hibiki and give him a second chance?

It might not be Lucy's place to ponder on it as their relationship was not her business, but since she was in fact involved in the incident she couldn't help but get bothered by it. The conclusion made the regret and shame intensify that it made her nauseous.

Shaking her head, Lucy sank deeper into the bathtub until her nose was right above the surface of hot water. If she was given a possibility to possess any kind of supernatural power, she would use it to build a time machine to go back in time to prevent the ruckus from making a reality.

But she could only wish.

{}

Applying several layers of makeup to conceal these awful dark bags under her swollen eyes was not much of a help, in fact it only worsened much to her dismay. Such miserable failure caused her to wonder if she really should attend to today's classes or skip them again. She did not want everyone to see that she'd been crying like a toddler.

But it wasn't worth staying at home and skipping school because of what happened, as Lucy guessed she should just suck it up in pretense nothing happened. And she would try her best to ignore the memories that had been haunting her for a while.

Looking down at her phone while walking on the sidewalk on her way to the school, she felt bad when she saw she had received tons of unread text messages sent by her best friend who asked where she was and why she didn't attend to classes. Lucy had felt like getting isolated by the world solely to clear her thoughts and find her normal self, and hence, she didn't bother to talk to anyone. Not even her own family.

But today she would make sure to explain everything to her best friend, and she was sure Levy would be understanding like she had always been.

Then as Lucy was filled with confidence – encouraging herself that everything was going to be fine in the end – she was about to put her phone in her school bag when she saw another unread text message sent by an unknown number.

 _"Hello sunshine. Your friend gave me your number, I hope that is okay."_

Lucy smiled immediately when she knew who it was from, her chest swelling with slight happiness as the message managed to make her forget the previous events for a moment. It was strange how he could make her smile when she didn't want to.

 _"Of course, Loke."_

{}

" _Lu-san!_ I demand you to explain everything as to why you were absent for many days! Have you been sick?"

Lucy couldn't help but smile fondly after seeing the concern in her best friend's eyes, as she pulled Levy into her arms and hugged her tightly. "I missed you too, Levy-chan. And I have been absent for only one day."

"Anyway, why have you been absent?"

Lucy retracted from the hug slowly in hesitation and watched as her best friend knitted her eyebrows together in worry, making her debate with herself on whether she should tell the truth or draw a white lie. She had, after all, still not coped with what happened, as the memories were constantly showing up in her mind every second – as a warning that she needed to process it before it might worsen.

She was about to come to a decision when Gajeel showed up all of a sudden and studied her face close, startling her that she jumped and yelped. Levy smacked his forearm, scolding him with a question about what had brought into him out of the blue.

Gajeel grunted quietly as he straightened into his full height and crossed his arms, his gaze still kept on Lucy to the point that she felt like she was about to get cross-examined anytime soon.

"You look like you have cried, Bunny."

While silently cursing the makeup that refused to give her a hand in this, Lucy wasn't that surprised about the fact that Gajeel could easily notice the small details. He was awfully sharp so that nobody would be able to fool him.

Levy shifted her gaze between her boyfriend and Lucy in confusion, but it didn't take her long to snap out as she neared to take a long and careful look at her face – as to determine if Gajeel had been right about his assumption.

Lucy averted her eyes and gulped. This was getting undoubtedly uncomfortable.

"What happened?"

Taking a deep breath to calm down, Lucy looked around in the classroom only to notice that the other classmates had not arrived just yet – making it a good opportunity to consult Levy, and Gajeel, about the incident.

"Well, it is silly but…"

After she finished summarizing her story to which her friends listened carefully with a concentrated expression, Lucy took another deep breath and waited nervously for their reply. Levy blinked several times, unsure what to say, while Gajeel crossed his arms and looked away at something interesting on the wall behind Lucy – probably.

"I know I have told you to give it all to win him back," Levy scratched her cheek and sighed in disbelief directed at her own naivety. "But I take it back. It seems like Hibiki-san is confused about what he wants to do, or who he wants to be with. And this kind of confusion leads to consequences in which hurts both of you and his girlfriend. And not to mention…"

Lucy raised an eyebrow in question.

"You are interested in someone else," Levy smiled mischievously.

The sudden statement made Lucy gasp, her cheeks heated as to confirm it without her permission. She clasped hands over them to hide the rosy color. "What do you mean? I-I am not interested in someone!"

"No need to be in denial, we can already see that you're interested in _him_ ," Gajeel snorted in amusement.

Lucy was about to argue against it when the other classmates showed up in the classroom, accompanied by their homeroom teacher. Her best friend grinned widely as she poked Lucy's cheek.

"I have seen the way you look at Loke and how often you smile because of him," she sang quietly before turning around in the seat to listen to the teacher's lesson.

Lucy pouted as she couldn't stop blushing like an idiot.

What her friends said about her interest was not wrong. She was definitely interested in Loke, but she didn't want to do anything about it when her problem wasn't resolved.


	6. Second Chance

**Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail and its characters.**

* * *

 _Chapter 5: Second Chance_

* * *

He was perfectly aware that it was wrong of him to do that to Lucy and – especially – Jenny, but he couldn't deny he liked having given the chance to remember what it felt like kissing the woman he had loved dearly. It might sound weird but when kissing Lucy for the first in a while, it was like he'd become whole again, as if Lucy was a puzzle piece in his heart and life. It made him somewhat happy to realize it, but at the same time he was ashamed of his actions.

He might not love Jenny as much as he loved Lucy, but Jenny was still his girlfriend – the one who was asked by himself to become his girlfriend after the ordeal instead of clearing the misunderstandings with Lucy.

The statement make Hibiki confused – he was torn with his feelings. He knew he would probably never lose his feelings for Lucy – she was his true first love after all – but after performing such action and realizing how awful he felt afterwards, he could admit to himself that he _actually_ loved Jenny.

But then why was he acting all jealous and bothered by the fact that Lucy was meeting someone who might have the potential of becoming her boyfriend sometime soon? He would normally convince himself that it was his old feelings that acted upon on it, but there was something with Loke that caused Hibiki to feel like he had to protect Lucy.

"Hey."

Hibiki stopped in his tracks, snapping out of his small bubble filled with thoughts, when he heard someone calling out to him with a feminine voice which he recognized right away. He turned around to find Jenny standing there and fiddling with her fingers, a habit of hers whenever she was nervous.

They had never had a chance to talk about what happened between Lucy and him, putting his relationship with Jenny on the verge of breaking up. When Jenny realized what happened the other day, she demanded Hibiki to stay and explain what was going on but the damned school bell rang off for the second but last time, signaling that it was time for the class to start. They had never had time to talk after the classes, but now it should be appropriate for them to talk.

He couldn't help but wish to himself quietly in that moment, that he could've done that with Lucy – talking it out after that crucial incident from many months ago.

"Rea-chan…" he looked sadly at Jenny, who averted her eyes away to show how much she was hurting by the whole ordeal. "I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to-"

"You still love her, don't you?"

Hibiki gulped thickly, unsure what to say. It was no secret that he still held some feelings for his former partner, but it hurt hearing it from Jenny herself. It felt like he'd just betrayed her, which he had and it was not first time it happened. He was ashamed to realize that. He'd betrayed both Lucy and Jenny.

Instead of answering the question like he should, Hibiki stepped forward and grabbed Jenny's wrist carefully, catching her off guard as she snapped to look at him wide-eyed. "Let's talk somewhere else," he suggested, since it wasn't such a good idea to discuss this when they happened to be in a corridor at the school. He didn't want some bystanders to eavesdrop on their conversation.

{}

They found an available room that was free for students to use, and Hibiki made sure to lock it so that they wouldn't be disturbed. In the middle of the room there were two couches facing each other with a small table between them, and Hibiki sat on one of them while Jenny took the other.

There was a growing uneasiness between them, thickening the atmosphere, as they weren't sure what to say or who should start the awaited conversation. Hibiki gripped his knees tensely as he watched his girlfriend, who fiddled with her skirt and bit her lower lip.

"Rea-chan, I wanted to say I am sorry for what happened. I truly am."

Jenny looked down to hide the tears that gathered in the corners of her eyes, but it wasn't oblivious to Hibiki. And it shattered his heart into pieces knowing everything was his fault.

He couldn't help but try to lean forward to grasp onto Jenny's hand to comfort her, but his action was denied when Jenny recoiled, holding her hands up and shaking her head. "Don't."

"Rea-chan…"

Jenny shook her head again, tears finally dripping down her cheeks. She looked up at him with various emotions shown in her blue eyes – betrayal, hurt, and love (despite everything). "Sometimes I regret it."

Hibiki's chest tightened. "You regret what?"

"This relationship. Don't get me wrong, Hibiki, I love you. I really do, but I can't help but regret how it had come to like this," she started and wiped her tears, but new tears kept coming. "I shouldn't have… thrown myself at you that day. I should have convinced you to clear the misunderstandings with Lucy… it hurts to continue this when it is apparent that you still love her. Don't deny that, I can see it on your face whenever you look at her."

Hibiki looked down at his trembling hands, taking in what Jenny said carefully.

What Jenny said about his love for Lucy was not wrong, but Hibiki had this feeling that he could actually let Lucy go if he got himself together and went through the "problem" he had with Loke.

He looked up at his girlfriend with a small smile. "You are right. I still love Lucy" – Jenny flinched and looked more hurt because she got the confirmation she feared – "but that is because she is my first love, and I guess I would probably never lose my feelings for her."

As Jenny tried to comprehend what he was trying to say, Hibiki decided to walk over to the other couch to sit down next to her. He clasped his hand over hers gently, and he was glad that she didn't pull away this time.

"I truly regret for hurting you for that foolish mistake. I…" he took a deep breath before looking at Jenny right in the eyes, and held her hand tightly. "Jenny, I love you. I understand if you want to break up or put our relationship on hold because of what happened-"

He stopped talking at the moment Jenny pulled away her hand, only to cover her face with her hands. He flinched at the sight of her shoulders shaking and jolting at each sob – had he said something wrong now?

As if reading his mind and answering his inner question, Jenny looked up at him with glassy eyes. And she had a wide smile pulling at her lips. "It is the first time you called me by my name."

Hibiki couldn't help but blush at the realization – it was actually the first time he called Jenny by her name, and not by her "shortened surname with an honorific". He smiled. It had to mean that what he felt for her was genuine.

He enveloped Jenny into a hug, which she returned affectionately.

"Hibiki, of course I forgive you… but promise me this," Jenny pulled away to take a careful look at Hibiki, her arms still wrapped around him. "Talk to Lucy. I know you two need to talk about what happened."

Hibiki nodded slowly in agreement.

Indeed, he needed to talk to Lucy to take the weight off his chest. They needed to talk about everything in order to move on. For real.

"Thank you, Jenny," he said as he leaned in to kiss his girlfriend.


	7. Revelation

Sorry for the late update. I still am unsure where to go with this story, but I'm trying to think of something. Thank you for having patience with me!

Oh, and I decided to change the title because the previous one is... well, I don't remember why I chose that.

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail and its characters.**

* * *

 _Chapter 6: Revelation_

* * *

It had been ages since he was courageous enough to take a look at the framed picture situated on the bedside table. When he finally decided to do so, it felt like the darkness swatted away all sources of light, dragging him down to the depth of dark sea filled with regrets and sorrows. Flashbacks of memories swept over his mind as though the replay button had gotten broken, and there was no way to repair it to stop – they were a reminder of what he had done.

It felt like yesterday, yet it felt like an entire lifetime.

Clichéd as it might be, but if he was given the possibility to be granted just about anything – related to supernaturalism – he wished for, he would grab the opportunity to turn back time in order to redo everything. Make up for all these mistakes he made past the years.

Loke slumped down on the end of the bed with the framed picture in his hands, blowing the dust away, his fingertips tracing along it as he stared at it longingly. It was a picture of himself and his best friend… well, _former_ best friend. They had since long ago cut off ties – because of a huge mistake Loke made many years ago.

He and his former best friend – whose name he didn't have the heart to say, because he didn't deserve it – used to be very close to the point they were often mistaken for being brothers. Such silly mistake was probably an assumption based on their similar appearance, which Loke now found absolutely ridiculous. He couldn't help but chuckle at their awful outfits in the picture – they were actually matching:

Both wore same kind of coat with a wide collar, and brownish-white fur trimming lining the hood. The difference was, though, Loke's coat was green while his best friend had blue. Their shirts weren't that similar, as they had to make sure their coats' color blended well with the color of their shirts. For example, Loke's orange shirt and his best friend's blue coat did often not go well together. They had black pants and whitish sneakers, each adorned with by a pair of light green/blue stripes.

Loke used to have very short hair back then, and he was actually glad for letting it grow out. He didn't use, however, to have a pair of azure glasses like he did now – but after what happened between them, he felt like a change. He wanted to change his looks and whatnot as to hide himself.

Hence the reason he decided to be known as Loke, and not by his real name.

Loke released a long sigh and gripped the frame hard, feeling how the anxiety tightened his chest intensely enough to make him take a deep breath in order to relax.

Nobody would ever understand how much he missed his best friend.

He was probably never going to forgive himself for what he had done in the past, something that caused his best friend to loathe him to the fullest.

Just as he was about to sink further into the dark sea, his phone buzzed twice, telling him he had received two unread text messages.

The first message was from his childhood friend, Aries.

 _"I'm sorry but I must remind you. It is not your fault."_

Loke ignored it.

The second message was from his sunshine, Lucy.

His heart skipped a beat.

 _"Hey, Loke. I know this is rather sudden, but would you like to hang out with me? I know a very delicious cafeteria at the mall."_

Loke's smile grew as he couldn't stop himself from typing the reply:

 _"So it is a date, then?"_

 _"… Yes, if that is what you want to call it."_

{}

He was unsure exactly what it was that he expected of this date – well, to put it right, he was absolutely not expecting anything of Lucy – but he didn't see something like this coming. They sat by a table near the windows, and both of them sipped on their lemon tea in silence, while the sight of his sunshine was literally blocked by a pile of books.

Lucy peeked out the books sideways with an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry I dragged you into this… mess."

Loke smiled. "I don't mind at all, Sunshine," he then leaned back into his seat comfortably, and winked at her, making Lucy blush slightly. "I can't help but be curious, though… why this many books?"

Since it was getting a bit troublesome with the pile of books between, making it almost impossible for them to keep an eye contact and talk at the same time, Lucy asked him to help her pack the books in a paper bag which was under the table. Loke was more than willing to help her out, and in the meanwhile he looked at a few recognizable titles.

"So you like romance novels?"

Lucy nodded eagerly, and Loke could swear he saw glistening stars in her brown eyes. "Yes, I do. I don't know if I told you this, but I want to become an author someday and all this books" – she waved a hand towards the paper bag – "are going to be my inspiration."

With the support of a light aura emitting around the atmosphere, she literally beamed when talking about this interest of hers. Loke found it really adorable that his smile grew wider.

 _She is so cute._

"When the day comes as you publish your first book, I will be your first reader," he promised.

Lucy blinked for a brief moment to take in what he just said. Then as it finally clicked, she blushed while drinking the rest of her lemon tea. "I… I have already promised Levy-chan she will be my first reader."

"Then I will be your second reader."

"That sounds good."

{}

After engaging in a fluent conversation whose topics varied at the cafeteria, they decided they should leave as to not become a burden to them that worked here – despite them assuring them it was no problem as the cafeteria wasn't that crowded just yet. They hadn't decided where to go or what to do next, not that they minded since they enjoyed each other's company.

Loke smiled.

He really liked being with Lucy. He felt like he could be himself around her and speak his mind. He was sure it was the first time he felt that way around someone that was the opposite gender.

What exactly it was with her that made him feel this way, was still a question. And he was definitely more than willing to find the answer.

"Hey, Loke?"

He snapped out of it, not even realizing his mind had wandered off somewhere, and looked down at Lucy curiously. Lucy smiled at him and pointed a finger at somewhere, allowing Loke to follow the direction she pointed – to an ice cream stall.

"Do you want some? I will treat you," Lucy handed her paper bag to Loke, telling him to wait here.

But Loke already beat her into it by placing a hand on her shoulder, halting her, and smiled in return when she turned around to him. "No way, _I_ will treat you."

"Please, you already did that at the cafeteria. Let me return the favor."

"Sunshine, we are on a date, meaning the gentleman will take care of that," he winked at her teasingly.

Lucy's cheeks turned rosy, but she smirked all of a sudden and put her hands on her hips. "Well, it was I who asked you out on a date. So I will take care of the payment."

Loke chuckled and scratched the back of his head, realizing that Lucy had the upper hand in this. "Alright, you win. Only this time."

She giggled and turned around again to make her way over to the ice cream stall, only to stop in her tracks when a beeping sound could be heard from her handbag. She looked over her shoulder and muttered an apology, at which Loke brushed off with a wave of hand, before picking her phone up.

She stared at the display screen wide-eyed in astonishment, and Loke couldn't help but step forward to ask her what was wrong. But the words never came out as he became dumbstruck when he saw the surname on the display screen of Lucy's phone.

 **Lates**

The color drained on his face.

Lucy didn't open the unread text message, saying something about taking a look at it later as it was nothing out of importance. She looked up at him and tilted her head in confusion when she saw his sudden pale face. "Loke? What is wrong? You look like you have seen a ghost."

He gulped thickly out of nervousness, unsure if he should ask her… if it was… _him._

Averting his eyes to the side, not daring make an eye contact with Lucy at the moment, he took a deep breath to calm down. "I didn't mean to peek… but that Lates… as in Hibiki Lates?"

Suddenly it was quiet. Not a single sound could be heard in the meanwhile the atmosphere became tense. Loke finally gathered the courage to look at Lucy, only to find her completely flabbergasted.

"Do… do you know him?"

Loke took another breath – he wanted to, he _had to_ tell her the reason behind his name change – before his expression turned serious. "He is my cousin."


End file.
